


Break Bread

by theprimrosepath



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AKA, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Bread, F/M, Fairy Tale Curses, Falling In Love, Letadrieneat2k16, Red Riding Hood Elements, an old request from tumblr, being dorks, tagged with both adrinette and marichat/adrien and chat bc tbh it's a blend of all, that's what happens when you mess around with aus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-20 09:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8244344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theprimrosepath/pseuds/theprimrosepath
Summary: Marinette was going to visit her grandfather. Unfortunately, her grandfather lived in a forest populated by dangerous magic, cursed creatures, and one individual who called himself Chat Noir.(DISCONTINUED)





	1. In Which Marinette Meets a Cat

_“Don’t stray from the paths. There are things waiting for you if you do.”_

 

Her mother’s warning echoed in the back of her mind as Marinette raced through the forest as fast as she could, breaths sawing through her lungs and making so much noise as she crashed through the sparse undergrowth in panic.

 

She knew the stories - that horrific creatures lurked among the trees, people cursed to forever be monsters, predators far too intelligent to be normal, and that only the paths, long ago enchanted by a kind witch, were safe from them. Why her grandfather lived in such a place, she would never know.

 

Marinette hadn’t ventured away from the path on purpose; she had just seen the most gorgeous cluster of flowers growing on a bush, and as soon as she had taken a single step off of the path to get a closer look, both the path and the flowers had vanished, leaving her to realize that she had somehow been bewitched. And then she'd heard the most horrific noise from behind her and immediately bolted out of sheer fright. She’d even dropped the basket of fresh-baked goods that her mother had wanted her to carry to her grandfather’s house.

 

 _I should’ve remembered the warnings,_ Marinette wailed in her mind as she kept running, thinking that she could hear the crunching of branches and ferns from behind her. _And now I’m going to die._

 

And then, inevitably, she tripped.

 

Marinette screamed as she fell, sprawling across the forest floor and feeling her red, black-spotted cloak snagging on some of the undergrowth. She scrambled back up as quickly as she could, the scrapes along the side of her face and her palms and arms set alight with pain, but it was too late.

 

A great shadow soared above her in a leap, landing on the ground a meter away in a much more graceful, predatory skid than Marinette had just performed.

 

She took a step back and slammed her shoulder into the trunk of a tree, tumbling back down to the ground. Twigs and rocks jabbed into her limbs and backside. At this point, Marinette was far too terrified to do anything but freeze in place to stare at the shadow, her heart beating like a wild drum and a detached part of her wondering distantly if the creature could hear it.

 

It looked like a wolf with sable fur, but even at second glance, it seemed far too large to be a normal wolf. Slowly, it stalked up towards Marinette with golden, unnervingly intelligent eyes, and its teeth glinted white as it curled its lips hungrily.

 

Marinette let out a shrill whimper despite herself and clapped a hand over her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut as if blinding herself to the wolf would somehow stall the inevitable.

 

Suddenly, she heard - sensed - something else approaching them. As she cracked open her eyes in confusion, Marinette heard a deep, throaty, oscillating noise shudder through the air, and she stilled, for the sound had come from directly behind her.

 

The wolf had frozen as well, its ears lowering and golden eyes narrowing in an uncomfortably human expression of caution.

 

The same noise came again, but it was louder - Marinette could feel the vibration of it deep in her bones - and the undertone of warning and aggression in it was unmistakable.

 

 _Leave,_ it implied, _or you won’t like what will happen next._

 

There was a long moment where the wolf glowered at whatever creature was looming behind Marinette, as if they were holding a staring contest over who would get to devour her first. She nearly giggled in hysterics at the thought and only managed to stifle the laugh because she still had her hand placed over her mouth, of all things.

 

Finally, the wolf backed away submissively, baring a grimace of sharp and deadly-looking teeth, and vanished into the forest shadows. The golden glow of its eyes lingered for a second longer before its presence disappeared entirely.

 

Marinette sucked in a trembling breath, finally removing her hand from her mouth. The brief moment of relief disappeared as quickly as the wolf did, however, when she felt a hot exhalation on the back of her neck.

 

Right. The other creature.

 

Marinette couldn’t help but quiver in place, waiting for what she was sure would be the sensation of teeth sinking into her flesh. The burn of her scrapes and bruises paled in comparison to sheer, fatalistic anticipation.

 

However, several moments passed in which nothing of the sort happened, and Marinette’s fear slowly clouded over with uncertainty.

 

There was the scuffling sound of movement and the huff of an animal from behind her as the creature finally slipped around Marinette and into sight.

 

She gasped and again clapped her hand over her mouth.

 

It was a massive wild cat, something that she had never seen before in her life until now; Marinette thought that if the cat placed its paw on top of her face, it would cover it completely. Its fur was a solid pitch-black, darker than coal, and its eyes gleamed a bright emerald green. The uncanniness of the stare reminded her exactly of the golden-eyed wolf.

 

The cat paused in front of her, studying her for a moment.

 

Marinette held her breath, trying not to ooze fear out of her every orifice.

 

Finally, the cat sat back on its haunches and cocked its head, the intensity of its gaze making her sweat.

 

And then the cat turned into a boy.

 

Marinette nearly screamed again, but she managed to muffle it to a mere yelp instead as her arms flailed in shock, reigniting the sting of her injuries as they scraped against the forest detritus.

 

The boy bared white, human teeth in a grin. He looked absolutely nothing like the cat he had been a second before, and not just in shape; while he was clothed in black furs, his skin was nearly as pale as Marinette’s own (albeit stained with dirt), and his hair, as shaggy as the village dogs’ fur and twice as long, was golden blond and hung down haphazardly in his face. She might even have thought that she had hallucinated the entire ordeal if it wasn’t for his still feline eyes, the exact same shade of glowing green as the cat’s.

 

A strange chirrup came out of the boy’s mouth at first, but then he cleared his throat, shaking his head loosely like a dog shedding water. “Er– I arrived here just in time, yes?” He smiled again. His speech had a strange, thick accent to it that was reminiscent of one who was used to a much different language.

 

Marinette gaped slightly, unable to comprehend what was happening.

 

“Oh! I should, um, introduce myself,” he said, flushing slightly and running his hand through his hair as he stuttered through the words uncertainly. “I am friends with the father of your mother - grandfather, I mean. Fu. He asked of me to follow you and, um, make certain you would travel safely - and it’s good that I did, yes?”

 

“Uh…” Marinette’s mouth flopped uselessly for a moment before she managed to make it function properly. This was simply too much for an ordinary village girl like her. Why did her grandfather have to live in such a crazy, dangerous forest? “Yes, my grandfather Fu,” she finally croaked. “I'm Marinette. Were you just a big cat?”

 

The boy nodded. “Yes. I am one of the - cursed? Like that. Call me Chat Noir.”

 

“’Chat Noir’? So, just ‘black cat’?” Marinette couldn’t help but giggle.

 

The boy flushed again. “Yes. It describes me well. And I do not remember my real name.”

 

That quickly sobered Marinette. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

 

Chat Noir appeared to simply brush it off. “It’s okay. It’s normal - common - for a cursed to not remember these things. Harder to reverse to the old self, that way.” He stood up from where he was sitting in one fluid motion and held out a hand to her. His expression had shut down, and Marinette suddenly felt guilty for causing his grin to disappear.

 

She took his hand gratefully and let him pull her up. Once he let go of her hand, she examined her clothes, grimacing at the many new stains and holes - especially in her cloak, which was her most precious possession. It was now pockmarked with fraying tears as well as the signature black, circular patches.

 

“I never thanked you,” Marinette said, looking back up at Chat Noir. “So, thank you. For saving me from that wolf.”

 

Chat Noir smiled; it was smaller than before and didn’t show his teeth, but it filled Marinette with relief to know that she hadn’t completely alienated this strange boy yet. “It was only my duty. The wolf would have killed you.”

 

“Yes, I could tell,” she couldn’t help but say with a touch of sarcasm.

 

Surprisingly, Chat Noir’s smile grew wider, and the sight warmed Marinette’s heart. Suddenly, she found herself examining the boy’s ragged appearance again and admiring it, somehow, and she felt her face growing hot with this realization.

 

“Anyway,” Marinette said quickly, averting her eyes. “My grandfather Fu sent you to look after me? Then maybe you can lead me back to the path? I was– oh, no!” She held her face in her hands for a moment. “I dropped the basket there with the food that Maman baked.”

 

“Food?” Chat Noir’s smile became hungrier, but teasingly so. “Certainly I can guide you back to the path, my Ladybug - but only if you promise to share some of this food with me. I like meat.”

 

Marinette nearly choked. “’My Ladybug’?”

 

He gestured to her half-ruined cloak. “Your...? Cloak, yes. Red with black spots, like a ladybug. And you were lucky today - because you met me.” Chat Noir’s smile gained a hint of crookedness.

 

“Oh yes, because it had nothing to do with the wolf that wanted to eat me for dinner,” Marinette shot back, trying not to smile but failing miserably. “And Chat Noir, the only food I brought was bread. My mother is a baker.”

 

Chat Noir winked. “Then perhaps you could remember meat if you visit Fu again. Come.”

 

In one swift motion, he took her hand - she couldn’t help but gasp at the contact - and began leading her through the trees. After a moment, Marinette hurried her pace so that she wouldn’t be trailing behind him, tightening her grip on his hand and telling herself that it was because she was afraid of being bewitched by the forest again and nothing more. His palm, callused and dry, was warm in hers.

 

“Chat Noir,” she finally said.

 

“Yes, Marinette?”

 

“If you were following me as that massive cat, couldn’t you smell that my food was bread?”

 

She heard no reply for a moment, and Marinette looked over to find that, to her surprise, there was a flush of embarrassment to Chat Noir’s face again.

 

“I was… distracted. By looking for danger,” he finally said, gaze flickering nervously to hers - and refusing to meet her eyes. "And it is a good thing that I was looking instead of smelling, yes?"

 

Marinette smiled, growing brighter when he hesitantly returned the gesture. "Yes, it was."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic will probably only be updated whenever i'm bored or need a little writing break. that said, i'll be very glad if you decide to keep up! i hope you'll enjoy the random snippets that'll be coming.
> 
> feel free to come find me at [my tumblr](https://primrose-path-of-dalliance.tumblr.com), where i post fandom things and the occasional bit of writing.


	2. In Which Something Glass Is Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for arguing parents and implied dissociation.

Adrien hums louder, closing his eyes tight. Anything to drown out the angry voices downstairs.

 

He tries closing all his doors. Placing his hands over his ears. Huddling in the farthest corner of his rooms with his thickest cloak wrapped around his head. No luck.

 

A smash of shattering glass echoes through the château, and though Adrien doesn’t flinch, his insides flash-freeze with a burst of fear. Almost instinctively, he separates himself from this world where parents scream at each other and nothing is there to comfort a child except for a single rich cloak. _There goes another ridiculously expensive ornament_ , he thinks distantly. Well, his family is obscenely wealthy. They can probably buy a dozen of whatever object his father just destroyed and still leave no dent in the Agreste coffers.

 

“I hate you!” His mother’s voice is shrill from all the screaming. “You never listen to a thing I say! I’ll leave you, I swear I will!”

 

“Then do it,” his father bellows back, his scathing words like a thousand spearmen in the stone halls. “Leave! See if I care, you damn woman. It’s not like I need you.”

 

Adrien shudders, closing in further on himself. He wonders where the servants have hidden themselves and how much his father must be paying them to keep silent about _this_.

 

 _Everything will be okay,_ he assures himself as the faraway verbal attacks continues. _By tomorrow night, everything will be back to normal. It always is._

 

 _Until it isn’t,_ says the part of him that learns from experience. But even if another argument a dozen days from now becomes broken porcelain and wrath bouncing with sharp and jagged points off the cobble of the walls, at least they don’t hit each other. At least they tolerate each other, for him. No matter how much they hate each other, at least they love him.

 

“I will!” his mother yells again.

 

 _It will be okay,_ Adrien whispers.

 

The next morning, his mother is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise angst! sorry about that. i promise this won't be a common occurrence. and to make sure it's clear, this was just a brief flashback - nothing has happened in the main storyline.
> 
> feel free to come find me at [my tumblr](https://primrose-path-of-dalliance.tumblr.com), where i post fandom things and the occasional bit of writing.


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